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| Amba |
My legs ached from walking so much and my throat raw from pleading. Pleading. That is all I am able to do as a woman, plead. Men, with all their boasting of how honorable and strong they are, were worthless. No man I spoke to was brave enough to fight the legendary son of Ganga. Not one king, not one warrior was brave enough to fight the man who ruined my life. You must know Bhishma. Don't tell me you too have succumbed to the lies. How he is such an honorable man that only wants the best for his family and kingdom and I am portrayed as a bitter and cynical woman. No, there is always two sides to the story.
Bhishma STOLE me and my two sisters from our home. First off, this moron had two half-brothers.Two. Brothers. For such a legend, this idiot could not count. If he forgot how many brothers he had, anyone would have been happy to tell him he had two brothers. I would have loved to remind him the he had TWO BROTHERS! So why in the world would he need the three of us? I tried to remind Bhishma that but again since I am a women, I was silenced. I could not overpower him and he would not listen to my pleading. Pleading. I hate just being able to plead. You would think that with all my pleading and the noise I was making would cause my father to rain hell down on Bhishma. But no, because men are scared of the son of Ganga.
Anyway, after we got to Bhishma's home, I pleaded (again, because that is all I am able to do) with Bhishma to let me go. I was in love with someone else and my heart would never belong to his brother or him. Surprisingly, Bhishma apologized and let me go. I was so grateful that I forgave him for stealing me like the savage oaf that he was and went straight to my beloved. King Shalva would be so happy to know that I was still his. I was already planning the wedding in my mind when I got to his court. But I was so foolish to believe in a man. He rejected me. His excuse was that I was taken by another man and therefore I was tainted. It was dishonorable, my purity was in question, and all this other nonsense. He was saying it like I had any choice. I was A-B-D-U-C-T-E-D! I couldn't believed I loved this inconsiderate man.
So I did they only thing I could and I went back to Bhishma. If King Shalva wouldn't take me, then it was certain no other king would. Bhishma was my only hope to save myself since I was just a woman. But alas, Bhishma rejected me too. Something about an oath, I don't remember exactly because I stopped listening to him. The ringing in my ears drowned out his voice. I was done with this self serving monarch. No, I would not stand by and just plead this time. I will make Bhishma rue the day he crossed me. I will kill him myself. I will kill them all.
Author's Note
My story is based off Amba's Ruin Epified video. One of Bhishma's half brothers die and so to make sure the kingdom has a future he goes to Kashi and steal the three princesses as wives for his surviving brother. Amba begs Bhishma to let her go because she loves King Shalva he lets her but he rejects her. He tells her that it would be dishonorable for him to take her as a wife as she was taken by another man. He tells her that her best chance is get Bhishma to marry her. Bhishma, of course, rejects her because of his oath that he made. She gets really angry and looks for a champion to kill Bhishma for her but no one does because they are scared of fighting him. She goes to the Sage Parshuram, who is the avatar of Vishu, and begs him to fight Bhishma. He instead goes to convince Bhishma to marry Amba. Bhishma refuses again and the sage gets pissed and they fight. They are evenly matched so the fight goes on for 23 days and the sage finally gives up because they can't kill each other. Amba walks away from the fight, vowing revenge.
Hey Miriam,
ReplyDeleteAt first I chose this story because I recognized the women in the image. I found it hilarious because I’m pretty sure my grandma watches this show. I like how your story pointed out some of my main problems from this part of the Mahabharata. Most importantly how horribly women seem to be treated in these stories.
Hi Mimi. I agree with Trishna, and I REALLY liked how you pointed how just how cruel these women were treated in these stories. It's an absolute outrage. But you did a really good job telling the story and making it your own. I didn't watch that video so it was interesting getting to learn and read about this since I didn't before. I mainly try to stick to the reading because I find them easier. Good job with this story!
ReplyDeleteHey Miriam!
ReplyDeleteI have not read this story so I'm glad that you chose to retell it. I like that you focused this story from the female's point of view, as that is something seems to be overlooked through most of these epics. I also like that you had Amba take things into her own hands at the end instead of trying to have someone else do it for her. Great job!
Hi Miriam,
ReplyDeleteI really liked reading this story! The GIF you use at the beginning is great and makes the story feel more real. I liked telling the story from Amba's perspective. The original story undercut just how horrible Amba was treated by making her the villain. Your story flips that scenario and really emphasizes her journey before she becomes a villain and it works really well. Great job!
-Elizabeth